Contained

Brennon came home on Friday, March 29th with this.

It's a self-contained ecosystem.  They'd been learning about them in Science and got to bring home their prototypes at the end of the quarter.  I thought the duct tape was there for transportation ease, but in fact, it's there because he is not to take the top off for any reason.  I was confused, because...

this.  I know it's hard to see, because it is the same color as the rocks, and because it is so little, but that, my friends, is a fish. 

Me: So, you never take the top off?  How will the fish get oxygen?  How will it eat?
Brennon: The plant cleanses, the algae feeds, and the fish lives. 

I thought, "Cool, I never have to feed this fish.  And when it dies, I'll throw the whole thing away without ever having to touch or smell it.  No mess, no fuss."  I gave it three days. 

Two and a half weeks later, I'm seriously stunned.  That fish just keeps on swimming.  Where I was watching and waiting each day for its death, I am now rooting for this little guy to live a long time, just so I can watch this Science in action.  Where I once thought it an inconvenience to have it on my kitchen counter (granted, pushed back in an unused corner, but still), I now look at it multiple times a day.  Do I wish it was a bright orange fish, you bet.  But I am actually enjoying something I literally gave a huffy breath about (think Napoleon Dynamite) when Brennon walked in the door, proud as can be.  Maybe on the three week anniversary this Friday, we'll give him a name...